Importance of Social
Media in Higher Education
We are living in a globalised world of
science and Technology. Where Sense of responsibility and act of responsibility
is now very closely connected because of the Transformative world-wide culture.
Internet and computer has played the tremendous role in changing the
Traditional society in a Modern pattern of act. Education in today’s scenario
is the basic need of human beings. This is through education only one can
achieve his goals in such a huge competitive world. This is the time of
investigating the possibilities of using the web/social media as a tool of e
learning in the higher education system of our country. This may be the one of
the biggest educational chain or platform of collective learning system.
The University Grant
Commission has already started his work on “E- PathShala” with the slogan of -
skill India and Digital India. This is the need of time to get familiar with
what we exactly need to compete in today’s world. Obligations and commitments are the part of
the system, so we need not to get worry about that. Use of social or web media
in modern education pattern is the necessity and the future of the society. A
knowledge based society can be built only by the tool of education. This is why
the government of India is planning to increase the GER (Gross Enrolment Ratio)
from 12% to 30% till 2020 as per the survey report of “About All India Survey
on Higher Education” available on http://mhrd.gov.in/statist. In our country near about 140 million students
are in school Education and approximately 800 universities are functioning
throughout the country. Education is the only tool through which we can make 21st
Century as an Indian Century.
Web or Social Media is
playing tremendous role in today’s society. there are some definitions of web
or social media such as:
·
As per the definition given by the “Merriam Webster”
in their online dictionary at the web link http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social%20media is
“Forms of
electronic communication (as Web sites for social networking and microblogging)
through which users create online communities to share information, ideas,
personal messages, and other content (as videos)”
·
As per the definition given by the “Oxford Dictionary”
in their online dictionary at the web link http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/social-media is “Websites and applications that enable users to
create and share content or to participate in social networking.”
In the view of
above definition, we can say that social media has given the platform for
collective learning. One question can be asked that why social media has become
so important in these days? According to me following factors are responsible
for the same
1.
Social media as an alternate.
2.
Social media and its reach.
3.
Social media and its connectivity.
4.
Social media and availability.
5.
Social media and feedback.
6.
Social media: beyond the boundaries.
7.
Social media: cheapest tool.
8.
Social media: as a collective platform.
9.
Social media and expression of thoughts
10.
Social media: As a knowledge Gateway.
It has been observed
that in whole world social media has become very popular among the youth.
Though still there is big gap between their online activities and in their
study. But both the things can be get connected and concept like “Global
Learning System” may come into the existence with much more popular way than
the “Traditional Learning System”. Lot of research efforts throughout the world
has proved that social media platform is more effective for collective learning
system. Here student’s participation is more focused and they act as a co-
producers of content. Video and image blogging has made the learning system
more live and graceful. Study-interaction and collaboration is happening on one
platform, which is transparent and democratic in nature.
